Fragrant Sweetbox
Dark and shady places – like the north walls of a home – can be extremely challenging sites to plant. Sarcococca, or Sweetbox, is an ideal shrub for low-light situations like this. Thriving in everything from part sun to deep shade, Sweetbox is an attractive, broad-leafed evergreen with glossy dark green leaves that provides a good backdrop for airier ferns and flowering shade perennials.
There are a handful of different species ranging from upright shrubs to slowly spreading groundcovers. They all have simple leathery leaves and are for the most part deer resistant, making this genus a true problem solver in a myriad of ways. Not to mention they bloom in late winter when most plants haven’t even broken dormancy!
Even though their small fringy flowers are not what you would consider showy, they amply make up for it with a powerfully sweet, vanilla-like fragrance that is sure to get attention. Add in red to black berries that lend a festive quality later in the year, and you’ve got a great four-season plant!
In return, this understated plant merely asks for moderately fertile soil with decent drainage and regular water throughout the hotter months. That is not to say Sweetbox wouldn’t prefer rich, humusy and acidic soil, but it is quite adaptable once established.
Here are some of our favorite types:
Sarcococca confusa gets 3-5′ tall and wide at maturity, with a moderat growth rate; perfect for a low hedge or evergreen border in a shade bed! It is such an easy, reliable shrub to grow that it has received an Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society.
Sarcococca ruscifolia or Fragrant Sweetbox is the largest of the more common species reaching 3-6′ high and wide with an arching habit and more rounded leaves. It is known to naturally espalier itself against a house and thus can be useful in tight spots and under windows. Its growth is slow to moderate and can easily be kept at 3’.
Sarcococca ‘Fragrant Valley’ is a compact yet vigorous selection growing to 18-24″ tall and 3-4′ wide.
Sarcococca ‘Fragrant Mountain’ attains a slightly larger size at 2-3′ tall and 3-4′ wide, making it a great alternative to Skimmia japonica.
Sarcococca humilis (Dwarf Sweet Box) is the smallest member of the group, reaching just 1-2′ tall and 8-12″ tall at maturity. It’s an elegant little shrub though, with slender, tapered, glossy dark-green leaves.
All of these varieties are disease resistant and tolerant of drier soils and less than ideal conditions. Sarcococca species are great supporting cast members for the shady garden (…we can’t all be stars…) – and a must have for lovers of fragrant plants!